Broken
by Breanna-Higurashi
Summary: This story takes place right after episode 23, Fullmetal Heart. How would the story have gone if Edward had been more severely hurt during the fight at Lab 5? What if Al had wanted to return the moment he left but didn't because of pride? Read to find out!
1. Fullmetal Heart ep 23

-Breanna-Higurashi-

Hello all. Here is the first chapter to my version of how Fullmetal Heart could have happened. I hope you all enjoy. Be prepared for heart ache and lots of brotherly love.

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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Chapter 1: Fullmetal Heart ep. 23

Alphonse gazed over towards the door to the roof when he heard movement on the other side. Winry and Edward came into view with a bundle of metal parts. Ed looked at his brother with pleading golden eyes,

"Listen, I'm sorry. I'm gonna fix you right now."

He began to arrange the metal parts in preparation for the transmutation.

"Trust me, I'm not gonna give up on this yet Al. We're gonna do this, but well do it the right way. I'm sure."

There was a pause for a moment as Ed finished arranging the parts.

Al gazed at his older brother,

"Maybe you can go back to normal Brother, and I hope you do, but I'm not sure I ever can."

Ed gave him a reassuring smile as he said,

"Ah, what are you talking about? Of course you can Al."

He stood up and clapped his hands

"Well here goes."

There was a spark of light as electric currents of alchemy did their work. Within seconds Al's armor was back to the way it was before the fight at Lab 5.

"How's that?"

"That's how you made me this way when you attached my soul to this armor in the first place, isn't it? "

"That's right."

"Along with my memories."

Ed let out a surprised sound.

"After all, memories are just information that you can reference. Like a cabinet of files. As skilled of an alchemist as you are, you could have created any memories that you wanted me to have."

Ed made a confused face, he didn't understand where his brother was coming from.

"Fake memories? Don't tell me that's what you're upset about."

The way Ed spoke must have upset Alphonse because his voice got louder.

"Why shouldn't it be?! A while back in Resembool there was something that you wanted to tell me, but you couldn't. You said you were afraid of how I'd react. You remember that don't you?!"

He remembered alright. That night where he had been so afraid to find out if his precious baby brother blamed him for all that had happened. Al surely hated him.

"I can't remember parts of my past because they never happened. My memories and my soul are fake! Something you created! Isn't that what you wanted to say!?"

A purely devastated looked contorted its way onto Ed's face. His eyes became hazy as he took in his brothers harsh words. Eyebrows knitted together and teeth clenched as his heart began to beat wildly inside of his wounded chest.

 _Stop… Quit hurting him. Brother would never do anything like that, you know it…._

"NO! What Ed wanted to tell you was…."

Winry never got the chance to finish the sentence that would have fixed everything as Al's hand came down.

"Stop lying to me! I know what the truth is. The person named Alphonse Elric never existed at all."

The look on Ed's face got worse and worse as his brother spoke. It felt like he was losing him all over again. His only family, his lifeline. The only person who kept him grounded and gave him any motivation to continue living. Without Al, he was nothing. HE WAS LOSING HIS BROTHER! The young alchemist's breathing got deeper as his heart rate continued to speed up.

 _Brother….I'm sorry. Please, someone shut me up. Ed, please, I don't mean it!_

Winry looked between the two, she knew she had to sop this before it got any worse. Ed looked like he was going to have a heart attack at any moment.

"That makes no sense! You and Ed have always been together! I knew you when you were a boy. My grandma did too. Were friends Al, you can trust me."

Nothing seemed to be getting though that thick stubborn Elric.

"Can I? Really? How can I believe anyone when there's no way to prove it? When I'm just a hollow shell. All three of you could be in on it together."

A shallow whisper answered his cruel words.

"So….You've been sitting on those thoughts all this time? IS there anything else your hiding that you wanna say? "

"What about you my 'so called brother'? Answer my question. Why won't you say anything? Unless it's true!"

Al made a move to leave, but his brothers flesh hand reached out and grabbed his gauntlet.

"Let go of me. What's the point of living this lie!?"

He managed to shake him off for a moment. However, the moment Ed was no longer touching his brother, something caused fear to snake its way into Edwards's voice. He grabbed onto him again.

"You idiot!"

Once again Al tried to get away from his brother but Ed would not let up. He was not about to lose his brother again!

"Let go of me. Let go!"

Pain began to travel to Edward's chest again, he wasn't sure if it was emotional of physical. All that mattered was staying getting his brother to stay with him.

"Al….stop."

"I won't stay here!"

And just like that, with one move of his gauntlet and a large amount of force, Ed went flying to the hard cement ground. His hospital slippers fell off and his weak and fragile body collided with the ground with a thud. There it was again, pain, hot nerve splitting pain. Stitches broke and wounds reopened. A painful gasped left Edwards lips before he even had a chance to recover from the fall.

"Edward!"

Winry rushed over to the fallen state alchemist and gently laid her hands on his shoulders, helping him to sit up. The moment he did, both Alphonse and Winry could see the trickle of red blood coming from the corner of Ed's mouth. There was also a large red stain appearing on the upper part of Ed's hospital shirt. Shimmering golden eyes gazed at the suit of armor with absolute agony.

 _Brother! Blood? I did this! I'm sorry!_

"Alphonse…."

Ed's voice was so broken, so defeated, that it was almost impossible to hear him.

"Stay back"

On shaky legs Ed began to make his way to his brother again. He needed to make him understand. With each step, Ed winced, even limping hurt.

"Hold on."

"Just stay back…Keep away from me!"

"Please Al!"

With that final yell, Alphonse ran from the two people that meant the most to him. He leaped over the railing of the roof and fell six floors down to the pavement below.

"AL!"

By the time that Ed made it to the railing, Al was already sprinting away.

"WAIT!"

He was about to follow his younger brother, but Winry grabbed onto him, keeping him for leading off the building.

"ED! No!"

He struggled against her hold as the blood mark on his chest got bigger and bigger, the crimson liquid staining the cotton of his clothes.

"AL! AL!"

His wails for his brother to return fell on deaf ears, within a few moments, Al was gone…and so was Edward's heart.

 _Brother, please….forgive me…._

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-Breanna-Higurashi-

There you have it! Al has wounded Ed in more ways than one. Hopefully the doctors can fix some of the damage that has been done. Until next time! Remember to review!


	2. The Wait

-Breanna-Higurashi-

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting chapter 2, but here it is. I hope you all enjoy.

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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Broken: Chapter 2: The Wait

By the time that Winry was able to calm Edward down, he was covered in blood. The crimson liquid had stained his hospital shirt and blood still dripped from his split lip, where his brother had hit him. Edward's body lost the small amount of energy that it had managed to find, now, his body had become limp in his friends hold as she moved the both of them back into the hospital. Golden eyes had simmered down, becoming a glazed hazel as he began to realize what had just happened.

"Ed, stay awake."

"Al…"

A sigh, shimmering baby blue eyes gazed down at the young man in her arms.

"Well find him. But first, we need to get you some help."

Everything became a blur as the hospital staff gathered around them, some taking the battered broken boy from his friends arms while a couple others asked what had happened to him. Shadows danced at Edward's sight, clawing at him until his entire vision went black. His body finally surrendered itself to slumber at last.

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Beep, beep, beep…

"Ugh…" Metal fingers twitched as Edward came out of his medically induced sleep. Blink, blink.. Where was he? Where was his brother?

"Alphonse?"

Winry jolted from her seat which was located beside his hospital bed.

"Ed? You awake?"

Gold met blue and a small nod was the response that she received.

"Y…yeah…"

"Are you in any pain?"

"No…" lie. His heart was thumping in his chest, pain danced across his torn and shredded skin.

"Ed…no one has seen any trace of Al. Hughes has people searching for him all over Central."

Fists clenched, head turned and eyelids opened and closed multiple time, trying to will the tears away before they could surface.

"When can I join them?" his curt response surprised the young woman.

"I'm sorry. The doctors say you cant be discharged for a week."

"A WEEK!?" in that instant golden eyes awakened, gone was the glazed hazel, devoid of emotion and in its place was pure roaring rage.

"You need to heal.."

"NO! What I need is to find my little brother!"

Limbs tangled with the cotton blankets as the young alchemist struggled to leave his bed.

"ED, NO!"

Before Winry could even try to force Ed back down onto the bed, his body gave out, collapsing back onto the mattress beneath him. One moment he was feeling fine, ready to storm out of there and find his brother, and then pain assaulted his body. It was as if someone had stabbed him in the chest.

"Dammit!"

"Edward!"

Within moments, Winry was beside him, helping him to lay back down, hoping he had not aggravated his wounds.

"Stay still. You'll open your wounds if you keep moving. Rest. I know you want to find Al, I do too, but you need to recover first."

Once he was situated back beneath the covers Edward turned his gaze to her face, feeling guilty for making her worry. He knew that she cared about Al too and she was just trying to help him so they could go find him together. However, he knew he couldn't wait a week to go look for Al.

"Two days. If Al's not back in two days then Im going after him. I wont lose my brother….again."

The final word was whispered so softly and so full of emotion that it felt as if he was reliving a memory, or a nightmare.

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Alphonse didn't know how long he had been running for, but by the time that he stopped it had begun to become dark and rain fell from the sky. He took notice of an abandoned building to his right, deciding to stop for the night he ducked inside. Walls stained with graffiti and crumbling walls met his eyes once he was no longer out in the rain. It wasn't much, but it would do for the night. The last thing he needed was for his blood seal to be damaged by the rain, if that happened who knows what kind of effect it would have on his soul.

He sat with his back leaning against the plaster behind him. His armor clanked as it connected with the wall, the reverberating sound made his soul shudder, further reminding him that he wasn't human. Why hadn't Ed denied his accusations? Could it really be that he was just a collection of fabricated memories? That would mean that everything could be fake, a lie, his brother, childhood, even their mother.

 _Could mom really be fake? A Lie?_

It tore at his soul that his beautiful, caring mother could have just been a made up lie, created by his brother. The same woman who had cared and loved them throughout their childhood. All the laughs, tears and joy, all of it could never of happened at all. Shaking his steel head he curled further into himself. His inhuman body remained in this position until something caught his eye.

Blood, red living blood covered the back of his gauntlet covered hand. It had long since crusted over and had began to become a reddish brown around the edges.

 _Brother's blood? Wha…_

Oh, he remembered now. In a fatal attempt to get away and think things trough he had stuck his brother. Ed had been wounded, barley even been able to walk for a day without pain. What did he do? He had caused his older brother even more pain, wounding him, and had caused blood to spill from his lips. The look that his brother had given him after he had been able to sit up was one of anguish, his normally flaming eyes had held that of utter pain. It wasn't physical pain though, it was that of emotional distress.

 _Brother looked so broken, so small. I haven't seen him look like that since we tried to bring mom back to life._

That look, no his brother wouldn't of risked his own life to create a fake brother. No one would put themselves through that much pain for no reason. By seeing his pain alone should have been enough to convince him that what Barry the Chopper had told him was false. Edward had given up everything to make sure that his little brother lived, even now he was sacrificing left and right to try to bring Al back to his human body. His brother needed him, now more than ever, and what did he do, he ran away. Alphonse had left his brother alone, made him believe that he had lost him.

 _Oh no…_

There was no way that he could face him now, not after leaving him. Dammit! He knew how Ed felt about being alone. Leaving him, disowning him as his brother was the worst thing that he could have possibly done to him. The look he saw before he had leapt off the building had been one of a broken man. With his cruel words he had damaged his brother, destroyed his heart. Now, he just had to hope that he could forgive him. Even if it meant that he had to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness he would do it in a heartbeat to get his only family back. It was decided, he would go back and hopefully he would be able to gain back his brothers favor. Get their relationship back on track.

 _Two days. I'll go back in two days._

Hopefully giving Ed a couple days would help them both and then they can get back to the way things used to be. Al gazed at the entryway where the door was still open, hanging by the screws of the doorframe. The rain continued to pour outside as the darkness covered the town.

 _Two days…_

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-Breanna-Higurashi-

There you have it! Hopefully two days will give these brothers some good, or will something get in their way? We shall see. Until next time! Remember to review!


	3. Pride

**-Breanna-Higurashi-**

Hello! Sorry for the delay, finals are fast approaching and much studying is being done.

I am happy to report that I have found a beta for this story, welcome aboard **Moonstruck Kitten**!

Thank you for helping me with this chapter and thank you viewers for the reviews, your ideas really helped shape this chapter.

Now lets begin!

PS, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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 **Broken: Chapter 3: Pride**

Broken: Chapter 3

Blinding sunlight shined through the window, casting the hospital bed within its light. Edward groaned as he awoke. A whimper left the young alchemist's lips as his eyes scrunched together. It was worse. This new pain caused him to breathe deeper as he tried to get the ache to subside before anyone could find out. If his doctor found out that his condition had worsened, then he couldn't go find Al. Winry alone would see to it that he stayed in his hospital bed until he was well again.

Realizing that he wasn't going to be getting anymore sleep, Edward opened his eyes. It took him a few moments to get his vision to clear, but once it did, Winry entered the room. She smiled at him when their eyes made contact.

"Morning sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" she asked as she made her way over to his bed.

Ed hesitated. "F…fine. When can we get out of here?" Al was still not back, and he wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible to search for him. He would find his little brother.

A sigh left her lips, but he couldn't blame her, he had been asking that same question every time he woke up, then she let out a little laugh. "I know that there is no changing an Elric's mind once it is made up, but let the doctor look at you. Then we'll talk."

"Thanks Winry." Edward said gratefully as he tried to sit up, he was having difficulty until a gentle hand helped him to sit up and lean against his pillows. Once he was situated the door opened again. A man with a white lab coat came into the room. His short black hair was combed and sleek. Brown eyes looked from Winry to his patient.

"Good morning." He greeted as he walked up to the other side of Edward's hospital bed.

"Good morning, Dr. Hamada." Winry responded for the both of them.

Ed just grumbled, still not happy about being stuck in a hospital. Hopefully he could trick his doctor into letting him out of there without him knowing that he was worse for wear.

Dr Hamada checked the IV drips and scratched something down on the paper on his clipboard. He turned his attention to Ed. "How are you feeling today Edward? Anymore pain?"

"I'm fine. How about you grab those discharge papers and we'll get out of your hair." Ed's response was rushed and his voice shook. Dr. Hamada took a thermometer out of his coat pocket and placed it in Edward's mouth before he could protest.

"Sorry, can't do that quite yet. I just need to check you over real quick. Then we'll see about getting you out of here." After a few moments he took the thermometer out of his mouth and noted the results. "You have a slight fever."

Ed's hands shot up and grabbed the railings of the bed to help him sit up fully. He ignored the waves of pain as he forced his body to move and his arms shook slightly. He wanted to just lay back down and rest but he had to go find Alphonse. "I'm just a little warm…I need to go. Colonel Mustang is expecting me." He hoped that by playing the military card he could get out of there easier. Before he could push himself off the bed however, Winry gently pushed him back onto the pillows.

"Idiot! Lay back down! You're not well!" Winry scolded. Ed didn't even have the energy to try to push her hand off his chest.

After a few moments with no resistance, Winry removed her hand and the doctor removed Ed's shirt to get a look at the wound on his side. He began to remove the bandages and once the last one fell he got a good look at the cut. The skin was bright red, puss had begun to form around the actual cut and there was a slight yellowing of the skin around the area of the wound.

Dr. Hamada looked up at Ed, his look concerned. "Ed, I'm afraid you have an infection." He grabbed a pair of gloves off the counter by the sink and put them on. Gently, he felt around the wound and discovered that the skin was tender. Ed winced when he touched it, he was getting tired of these nurses and doctors touching him. He was a State Alchemist for Christ's sake! He'd survived worse things than a wimpy infection. Hell, his automail surgery was ten times more painful.

"This is nothing. I need to...find Al…" Ed's vision began to get fuzzy again, the darkness clawed at his vision, just like the gate had so long ago. He fought it as long as he could but eventually, his vision went black.

The next time Ed awoke it was dark outside, moonlight glittered through his slightly opened window. His body was covered in sweat and his skin felt like it was on fire. His automail leg kicked the blanket off but it didn't help at all. A soft groan came from him as he twisted his body onto his uninjured side. His eyes gazed down when he felt something twisted around his flesh arm. Two new needles had been inserted into his arm, both of which were connected to two different bags of medication. Needles were one of the things that Ed hated most, and the stupid doctors had the nerve to stick him with two more.

Sighing, he turned his glassy gaze to the door; he didn't have time for this. He had to find Al and make him understand that he was his brother and that he meant the world to him. He'd ask if Al hated him and if he didn't, then they could go back to the way things used to be. First thing he had to do was find out where his little brother was. No one knew Al like he did, he knew the kinds of places Al would scurry off to when they had a disagreement. He would go find an abandoned building or would go sit by a body of water to clear his thoughts. His bet was on the building. Al wouldn't want people to recognize his armor: if they did, then they would tell the military. And if the military found out where he was, then they would tell him.

Edward sat up and looked at the clock on the wall, it read a little past twelve o'clock. Good. The nurse didn't usually come to check on him till one in the morning, he had time to think of an escape plan. He could rest later, once he had his brother back. His right hand took the needles out with ease. Once free of the medical equipment he took down the rails of his bed and jumped down. When his feet touched the ground, his body began to sway. One of his hands shot out and grabbed onto the sheets to steady his body until he could stand on his own. It took him a moment but eventually he was able to get his footing and was able to let go of the sheets.

Just as he had begun to walk to the window he saw something by the door on the other side of the room. A large suit of armor stood, gazing down at him. Its red eyes locked on his golden ones. The suit towered over him but Ed didn't feel intimidated at all, he felt whole.

"Alphonse? Al! You're back!" Edward smiled brightly at his brother and moved to walk over to him. He was so glad to have Al back; he had been so worried about him. "Idiot. Don't you ever scare me like that again!" His tone remained bright, never once sounding angry.

"Sorry." Al's voice was clear, no sound of the emptiness of the armor at all. Ed noticed. He raised an eyebrow at his little brother.

"Al? You ok?" Edward made a move to place a hand on A's shoulder but something strange happened when he did. He didn't feel anything. It was as if he was touching air. Ed's mouth hung open and his eyes widened, he couldn't figure out what this meant. A few seconds later, Al vanished. "AL!"

"Brother…"

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 **-Breanna-Higurashi-**

There you have it!

I would like to thank **Ruusu** for the idea of Ed having hallucinations, you rock!

Ideas are always welcome and are extremely helpful, so don't be afraid to share yours!

Until next time!

Remember to review!


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